Exquisite dim sum in a grandiose luxurious ambiance inspired by the heydays of grand Shanghai. We also had a few mains which were equally impressive.
Today, buddy jio-ed (invited) me to join his family and friends to celebrate his birthday with brunch at Grand Shanghai Restaurant 🎂
Grand Shanghai Restaurant is at the ground level, right at the main entrance of King's Centre at Havelock Road.
The main dining hall captures a bit of that opulent era when Shanghai was the grand dame among Chinese cities.
There are several well appointed private rooms.
Grand Shanghai executive chef Jason Lau hails from Hong Kong and worked at Blossom restaurant @ Marina Bay Sands when he first arrived in Singapore. Chef Jason was at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine before coming to Grand Shanghai. The veteran chef started his career under the tutelage of a master chef from Shunde, Guangdong, hence Jason is also accomplished in Shunde cuisine.
I am excited to taste chef Jason's dishes. We started with a dim sum selection.
Deep Fried Puff with White Turnip. I am seeing and tasting this dim sum for the first time.
The prosaic name Deep Fried Puff with White Turnip doesn't quite do justice to this delightful dim sum. The golden puff pastry crumbles in the mouth and melts away blending its buttery flavour with the stewed white turnip (radish). The stewed julienned white turnip is smooth and crunchy to the bite with a well balanced savoury sweet taste. I love this.
So many dim sum to taste, I wasn't attracted to the Siew Mai at first. I thought siew mai, is siew mai.... but after tasting Grand Shanghai's siew mai, I am reminded.. there's siew mai and there's siew mai.
The pork is hand chopped. Grand Shanghai's siew mai is tender and juicy in a way unlike those minced pork ones which are denser to the bite. I also like Grand Shanghai siew mai's savoury sweet flavours from crab roe, prawn topping and mushroom blended into the pork.
Steamed Pork Rib with green bean noodle (glass noodle) and black bean sauce. (Fed the camera but forgot to eat it myself 😞 )
I also didn't taste this Steamed Mushroom Dumpling with vegetables and truffle as my chopsticks were too slow. Stellar said it was very nice 😋
Cantonese Sponge Cake or Ma Lai Go is a classic Hong Kong dim sum I always order when it is available. Grand Shanghai's rendition is nice - I like the spongy bounce and the just right level of sweetness (i.e. not too sweet).
Of course, we had the quintessentially Shanghainese Shengjian Bao - steamed and pan fried pork buns.
Two things about eating shengjian bao (I learnt the hard way) - be careful of scathing your tongue; be careful of squirting juices landing on your clothes or worse on the clothes of the person next to you.
Grand Shanghai's shengjian bao is as nice as the best I've had in Shanghai. Tender juicy soupy ball of savoury sweet pork in a spongy steamed bun with a slightly crisp pan fried base.
Lion Head (pork ball) on a bed of spinach and brown sauce crowned with black truffle.
The pork ball deep fried and then stewed is made with a relatively high proportion of fat. I like the sweet savoury taste though the ball was slightly soft to the bite.
The best part of this dish for me was the blanched spinach soaking in a pool of savoury brown sauce. It was infused with sweet juices from the pork ball and a bit of truffle flavour and aroma.
Pan Fried Cod Steak topped with pomelo sac on a soft snowy bed of crab meat, egg white and truffle oil.
The crisp chewy green cracker is made by blending sago beads with dried seaweed and green vegetable. It tastes savoury sweet and has a unique interesting texture.
The slab of tenderly juicy sweet cod fish has a savoury, subtly peppery dark brown coat outside. It is well complemented by the pomelo sacs and crab meat & egg white.
Typhoon Shelter Prawn. Hard to photograph as the large fried tiger prawn is nearly invisible - blanketed under a mound of deep fried garlic bits and chili pepper.
The shell kept the meat tender and crunchy. The prawn's natural sweetness is complemented by subtle infused savouriness and heat from the garlic and chili pepper.
Buddy is a regular at Grand Shanghai and he requested chef Jason to make a Shunde specialty. Chef Jason graciously obliged with this exquisite flavour packed, off menu soup.
Eat the thick soup with these fried crisps and it rids the complex concoction of subtle earthiness, turning the dish into a delightful, luscious blend of layers of sweet and savoury flavours.
Wok Fried Green Bean Noodles with Shanghai Hairy Crab (mitten crab) Meat Sauce.
The chewy broad green bean noodles are complemented by a rich savoury, umami packed, subtly sweet sauce made with pulled hairy crab meat.
Chilled Crystal Jelly ....
... with egg white ball filled with red bean paste and gingko nut.
Gand Shanghai is a nice place to indulge in the best of Shanghai cuisine in Singapore. Grand ambiance, exquisite food and indulgent service from friendly staff.
Written by Tony Boey on 25 Jan 2021
The slab of tenderly juicy sweet cod fish has a savoury, subtly peppery dark brown coat outside. It is well complemented by the pomelo sacs and crab meat & egg white.
Typhoon Shelter Prawn. Hard to photograph as the large fried tiger prawn is nearly invisible - blanketed under a mound of deep fried garlic bits and chili pepper.
The shell kept the meat tender and crunchy. The prawn's natural sweetness is complemented by subtle infused savouriness and heat from the garlic and chili pepper.
Buddy is a regular at Grand Shanghai and he requested chef Jason to make a Shunde specialty. Chef Jason graciously obliged with this exquisite flavour packed, off menu soup.
The soup base is made by boiling Soon Hock (marble goby) fish which is then thicken with dried citrus peel, julienned wood ear fungus, hairy melon, winter melon, fish meat, fish maw, etc.
Eat the thick soup with these fried crisps and it rids the complex concoction of subtle earthiness, turning the dish into a delightful, luscious blend of layers of sweet and savoury flavours.
Wok Fried Green Bean Noodles with Shanghai Hairy Crab (mitten crab) Meat Sauce.
The chewy broad green bean noodles are complemented by a rich savoury, umami packed, subtly sweet sauce made with pulled hairy crab meat.
Chilled Crystal Jelly ....
... with egg white ball filled with red bean paste and gingko nut.
Gand Shanghai is a nice place to indulge in the best of Shanghai cuisine in Singapore. Grand ambiance, exquisite food and indulgent service from friendly staff.
Reservations ☎ 9830 8590 Ms Huang Ru.
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